VIJAYAWADA: Inadequate footpaths and poor urban planning are the major reasons behind most of the road accidents, involving the pedestrians in Vijayawada. A total of 424 accidents were reported in the city in 2019, of which 103 persons died, 108 sustained injuries and 241 ended up with minor injuries.
Among the fatalities, pedestrians are most vulnerable on the city roads next to two-wheeler riders. As many as 60 pedestrians died in mishaps last year. Town planning department statistics reveal that the city has only 6.41 km length of footpaths against the total road network of 53.4 km. The footpaths that had been constructed by the civic body on Mahatma Gandhi Road and Eluru Road have been encroached upon, not only by commercial establishments, but also by government offices.
Despite residents and walkers’ associations taking the issue to the notice of authorities, nothing has been done to rectify the problem. “Due to lack of adequate footpaths and pavements, several pedestrians are forced to walk on busy Mahatma Gandhi Road and Eluru Road stretches, risking their lives. We have made several requests regarding this with the civic body officials, but it is of no use,” said Taxpayers Association secretary MV Anjaneyulu.
Regular drives must be conducted by the town planning department officials to remove encroachments on the existing footpaths and make them accessible for the pedestrians. This apart, focus should be laid by the VMC to demarcate no vending zones and vending zones to ease traffic congestion on the city roads. Also the civic body should join hands with the traffic police to make the city more pedestrian-friendly and to curb road accidents in the city, Anjaneyulu added.
VMC city planner K Lakshmana Rao told TNIE that several drives have been organised to remove encroachments on the footpaths in coordination with city traffic police. But after a few days, the encroachers come back and resume their business as usual on the footpaths. There is no law wherein we can initiate action against the encroachers. “We will come up with a policy to take action against the shopkeepers, who accommodates the vendors outside their shops,” Rao said.